Franklin Berkey
Chief Resident
Biography
I first came to central Pennsylvania
in mid-June, 1991, for the start of summer classes at Penn State University.
Raised in Newtown, Pennsylvania, a rapidly growing suburb of Philadelphia, my
move to the “remote” State College was to be little more than a temporary,
four-year layover. However, more than a decade later, I still find myself
comfortably, willingly, and perhaps permanently nestled in the mountains of
central Pennsylvania. In just a few short years, I fell in love with the
landscape, the communities, and the people. Most importantly, I fell in love
with my wife, Kelly.
Following completion of my undergraduate degree (Mass
Communications, 1994), I started work in Public & Media Relations with Penn
State’s Office of Intercollegiate Athletics and later, the College of
Communications. However, I never found the satisfaction in my first chosen
profession as I did in my part-time job as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
Working the nightshift at the University Ambulance
Service and later Bellefonte Emergency Medical Services, I found both an
academic interest in the “science” of medicine and a personal satisfaction
and amazement with the “art” of medicine. With this in mind, I returned to
classes in Penn State’s Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program and eventually,
the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).
Just after beginning my third year of medical school,
Kelly and I wed and settled into our first home in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Today, more than 10 years after first
arriving in central Pennsylvania, a residency position with Altoona Family
Physicians serves to further extend my “temporary layover” and perhaps
solidify central Pennsylvania as my true home.
Current location
Dr. Berkey has returned to his
ancestral home of Mount Union, Pennsylvania, where he is in private practice.
Facts
Undergraduate
Penn State University
B.A., Mass Communications, 1994
Graduate
Penn State University
Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program, 1998
Medical School
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, 2002
Previous Experience
Emergency Medical Technician/Firefighter
University Ambulance Service (1991-1998)
Bellefonte Emergency Medical Service (1997-2000)
Pleasant Gap Fire Department (1994-2002)
Communications/Public Relations
Penn State Office of Intercollegiate Athletics
(1991-1995)
Penn State College of Communications (1996-1997)
Areas of Interest
Evidenced-Based
Medicine
Emergency Medical Services
Preventive Medicine/Education
After hours interests
Running
